Happy 4th!

We celebrated the Fourth of July by thanking God for our country and our freedom and then cleaning out the garage.

Well, we cleaned out 1/10 of the garage. But, progress is progress, right?

Anyhow, with the movers coming to pack us up in about 23 days (oh, that just stresses me out to know it's that soon...), we are in give-away and throw-away mode without too much time to spare for festivities. And, since this is our first move with any children (I came to Texas pregnant with Ty and am now leaving Texas with Ty and Lydie), we are discovering that what used to take us a couple of days to do is now taking weeks--and we wish we had months.

So, as a military family doing their patriotic duty to move where the Air Force sends us, we spent our 4th preparing to relocate.

And, we found time to eat BBQ and fried chicken. Very American, indeed.

Regardless of our work-filled day, I had high hopes of a family trip to see the local fireworks show tonight. I just knew that Tyler would have a blast watching the bright lights and hearing the loud pops this year. I couldn't wait.

Then, all you-know-what broke loose just before we needed to leave. I told Danny just to put Ty to bed and we'd forget about the fireworks. It seemed like too much of a hassle to make it happen at that point.

After that, I pouted.

A lot.

I pouted enough that I almost cried as I thought of how deprived Tyler would be without seeing fireworks this year and about how sad it would be to not have Lydie's first Fourth of July documented on the tailgate like we have of Ty's last year. I just couldn't let it go.

Eventually, Danny figured out what was best for him, which meant picking my bottom lip up off the floor. He told me to get my shoes on and put the baby in the carrier. Before I knew it, he'd gotten Ty out of bed and in the car, and we were headed to see some fireworks.

I think Ty and I were equally surprised at the rapid turn of events, but neither of us could have been happier.

And, now, our Fourth of July is complete--Ty saw some fireworks that kept his attention for all of three minutes (he was more interested in the choo-choo trains he could hear in the distance) and Lydie's picture was taken on the tailgate. All is well.

Happy 4th, y'all!

My babies in their Independence Day best.

Miss Lydie

Ty practicing his bubble-blowing

Almost caught her smiling!

Kisses from big brother-

I'm pretty sure he kisses her a hundred times a day!

Finally caught a smile!

Surprise, Ty!

You get to stay up past your bedtime and see fireworks in your p.j.s and socks!

We looked like a mess, but we made it to the fireworks show!

Lydie was especially impressed with all the fanfare, can't you tell?

Dad-of-the-Year--

making mom and Ty happy one firework at a time!